DOVER BEACH

Dover Beach

                                                                                                -Matthew Arnold

 Introduction:

          Matthew Arnold, poet and critic was educated at Rugby and Oxford University.   He published several volumes of poetry between 1849 and 1867. “Dover Beach” his one of the elegiac poem published in the 1867 volume entitled “New Poems”.  The poem reveals Arnold’s brooding melancholy and insoluble mystery. The description of nature shrubby as an opening to elaborate his view of life.

Calmness of the sea:

           Arnold presence the picture of a calm and peaceful night on the Dover Beach in the moon light.  The moon light falls on the tides of the Dover Beach straits between the French and English coast.  The tides are rising quietly and the moon looks beautiful.  He asks his beloved to come to the window and look at the beautiful sight of the sea waves in the moon light.  The showers of water are flying on the show where the moon light glimmers those droplets.

The rolling of the sea waves:

            The poet gives a complete picture of the able and slow of the waves.  The waves drawback the pebbles and then hurl then to the show when they return.  The grating roar of pebbles resembles the sad music of humanity.  He imagines that Sophocles, the great Greek writer might have heard with eternal music of sadness when he stayed on the Aegean sea shore.

The sea of faith:

            The poet compares the darkness of the sea to religious faith.  In the past religious faith encircle the world and kept it tight hold.  It gave energy to humanity.  It lay around the world like bright bells which was tight and firm.  But at present, the faith is declaring.  The world it’s full of doubts and question.

The laws of religious faith:

            According to the poet, the world was happy and peaceful when the people followed religion.  But the faith in religion is declining.  The rising tide his compared to the rising faith of the past.  The reseeding waves are similar to the reseeding faith.

The need for true love:

            The poet comes back to his beloved and ask her to have true love as he has the says that only true love can survive and replays the laws of religious faith.  He sees the world filled with beauty unfreshness.  But he realized that it is only an illusion.  In reality there is no peace and joy.  He believed that only true love and faith in god can bring man happiness.  Arnold mentions that the ignorant and foolish soldier fight in the war field without knowing they caused and effect of war.  Likewise people live a mechanical life and experienced struggles without knowing the cost for them.  He resist that people would develop faith in religion and love and live a peaceful life.

Conclusion:

            Arnold brings out his pessimistic view about society.  He feels for the world where materially dominates the real values of the life.  He compared the “Walrus’” and “Beautiful” world of dreams of the past with the loveless and painful real are present world.  He blends the idea of love with the turmoil caused by the loss of faith and conflicts in the contemporary.

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